Taiwan-based MediaTek, the world's seventh-largest chip designer, on Monday said that its net profit in the fourth quarter of this year tripled from NT$2.88 billion a year earlier to NT$8.75 billion, thanks to strong sales of handset chips in the Chinese mainland and other emerging markets.

Revenue rose 41% from NT$20.65 billion a year ago to NT$29.1 billion during the period, the company said in a statement.

The company said its sales for the first quarter of this year will remain unchanged or increase 5% from the previous year.

The chip maker also forecasted its gross profit margin in the first quarter would decline by 2.2 percentage points from the previous quarter to 56.5%.

MediaTek, the largest chip designer in Taiwan, would deliver Windows Mobile-based smartphones at the beginning of this year, which was expected to help the company increase its sales revenue, according to an earlier report from China Knowledge.

Source:China Knowledge